Professor Stan Scott Head of School Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Athena SWAN Challenges and opportunities

Source: Sex and Power 2013: Who Runs Britain? Source: Sex and Power 2014: Who Runs Britain? University Vice Chancellors 14%

Bachelor students in Informatics ≈ 835,000 Source: Informatics Europe, Informatics Education in Europe: Institutions, Degrees, Students, Positions, Salaries. Key Data , October 2014

Master students in Informatics ≈ 148,000 Source: Informatics Europe, Informatics Education in Europe: Institutions, Degrees, Students, Positions, Salaries. Key Data , October 2014

Source: When Women Stopped Coding : Planet Money : NPR

 “If we can turn this situation around, it will open up new and rewarding career pathways for women as well as bringing huge benefits to STEM industries and to the UK economy. Our vision is that at least 30% of the UK STEM workforce will be female by 2020, but we cannot do it alone” Helen Wollaston, Director  As a creative occupation, a profession dependent on teamwork, and an industry responsible for producing the tools the rest of society uses, computing could benefit from incorporating more diverse perspectives.  Attracting more women to computing education and retaining them in the workforce would fulfil industry employment needs, strengthen our economy, and provide much needed diversity to our country’s cadre of technology innovators.  Employing a more diverse workforce brings a wider range of talents, skills and perspectives into an organisation Why it matters Source: WISE, ‘Engaging in gender equality, lessons learned from our work with higher education and research institutions’ IEEE Computer Society, Computing Education ‘Attracting and Retaining Women in Computing’, Wendy DuBow, National Center for Women & Information Technology, October 2014

Why it matters In a letter to all university Vice-Chancellors in January 2013, RCUK indicated that it expects those in receipt of Research Council funding to embed equality and diversity in all aspects of research practice as evidenced by participation in schemes such as Athena SWAN, Project Juno, Investors in People, Stonewall Diversity Champions and other similar initiatives to demonstrate departmental level action.

 Women in academic roles  Progression of students into academia  Working environment for all staff  Extension to AHSSBL, April 2015 With the support of Equality Challenge Unit (ECU) and the UKRC, the Charter was officially launched on 22 June 2005, with the first awards conferred in Athena SWAN members Bronze 72+8 Silver 6

The SSG’s two key roles are  to assist with and monitor School SWAN activities and applications  to implement the Institutional Action Plan.

Staff/Student numbers at 2013/14 ≈ 80 Academics ≈ 50+ Contract Research Staff ≈ 100 PhD Students ≈ 1700 UG/PGT Students

SWAN Champions and role model Head of School support and enthusiastic and committed self-assessment team (SAT) Institutional support Business improvement Professor

Professor Máire O’Neill is Technical Director of Data Security Systems in the Centre for Secure Information Technologies and is Director for the new MSc in Cyber Security. She has two children under 5 and her husband is in full-time employment.  5-year Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) Research Fellowship  5-year EPSRC Leadership  British Female Inventor of the Year in 2007  RAEng Silver Medal in 2014  Máire has the distinction of being the youngest ever female professor at Queen’s, and its first female professor in the field of electrical and electronic engineering

Our SWAN Mission  A culture that attracts female students and staff and one that will help them thrive.  Removal of obstacles that are a barrier to females joining and staying.  To integrate gender equality and wider diversity into all aspects of our business, so that it becomes ordinary practice and offers the potential for sustainable change. Key SWAN Themes  Attract female students and staff to EEECS  Provide career advice and support to female students and staff in EEECS  Make EEECS a good place to study and work for female students and staff Self-assessment team (SAT)  Professors (1F, 2M)  Lecturers (2 M)  Senior Engineer (F)  UG/PGR students (2F)  Business Improvement (F)  School Manager (M)  Administrator (F)  Marketing (1F, 1M)

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Leadership Excellence Programme designed around our flagship programmes – Business Leaders and Emerging Leaders with an additional module that focusses on Creativity, Innovation and Industry Collaboration which we run in partnership with The European Business School in Frankfurt.

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EEECS (could do better) QUB STEMM (performing well)

Key SWAN Themes and new actions  Attract female students and staff to EEECS  Rigorous review and replacement of all recruitment and advertising material for unconscious bias  Unconscious bias training for all staff  Promote flexible working and part-time positions  Provide career advice and support to female students and staff in EEECS  Line managers to discuss and document career plans with female post- docs during appraisal and encourage them to participate in the Specialist Mentoring Scheme  Women’s Network in collaboration with the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering with whom we share a building  Introduce Teaching Fellowships on an annual basis to give teaching experience to researchers to strengthen their CV Mission Impossible?